seacast for aluminum transom?

Hello, I am removing a rotten transom on my 83 16ft sea nymph fish and ski. Has anyone tryed or heard of using seacast instead of plywood on an aluminum boat?

bob

Re: seacast for aluminum transom?

bobd1972 said:

Hello, I am removing a rotten transom on my 83 16ft sea nymph fish and ski. Has anyone tryed or heard of using seacast instead of plywood on an aluminum boat?

bob

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It can be done with Seacast, by enclosing a sealed cavity in which to pour the new transom, but I'm not sure its worth all the extra work and added weight. It would make any future repairs to the aluminum skin in that area difficult, add additional weight, and possibly create corrosion issues in the encapsulated area if you run in salt water.
On most aluminum boats the wood is exposed and fairly easy to replace.
I'd consider the possibility of using wood substitute rather than a pour in resin.
I will be doing the transom in one of my jon boats using a single layer of white nylon or PVC which can be cut and shaped just as wood. I will then attach a motor clamp plate to provide some grip on the inside as well as to protect the plastic for longevity.

There's also the expense to consider. At over $200 per 5 gallon bucket, even a medium sized transom can end up costing well over $500 when you add in shipping. Even the transom on my 15' Glaspar would have needed 11 gallons, meaning that I'd have to buy three containers of Seacast and I'd still have to find a way to plug the area beneath the floor which is open at the bottom of the transom core.

Re: seacast for aluminum transom?

I don't know why you would want to. The transom in an aluminum boat is pretty easy to replace and you can do it in plywood for a fraction of the cost. Then, just properly store the boat and the new transom can last a lifetime.

Re: seacast for aluminum transom?

I was looking for a better way of fixing the transom. The wood is so rotten , I have to dig it out by hand. But after realizing the cost of the seacast, maybe replacing with wood would be a better option. Thanks for the advise.

bob

Re: seacast for aluminum transom?

here is some really good info. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=206019

Re: seacast for aluminum transom?

I did a 17 ft aluminum style flat bottom (I think it might have been a seanymph, if not, very similar style early to mid 80's I think, etc...) sporting a 35 horse with seacast some years ago. The transom was literally riveted in and would have been a bear to get replaced. I cut two rectangular holes in the top, say 4 or 5 inches wide, and using a combination of a long auger drill bit and a vacuum cleaner with a piece of pvc pipe for an extension, I removed all the rotted wood. I poured the seacast into the cavity in two pours after making sure to tape over the few places where there might have been a leak.

That was something like 10 years ago and the guy is still running the boat - he mentioned some time ago that the transom will probably outlast the rest of the boat! It was a little heavier, but not enough to make a real difference, and it was far stronger than the original wood ever was.

Oh, and where I cut the holes to get acces, i made sure to slightly overfill at the end and then just shaped it to the contours of the aluminum. after touching it up and painting, you couldn't even tell where it was done. It wasn't cracked or anything when I looked at it last time I saw the boat a cuple of years ago. (it went to a friend).

Re: seacast for aluminum transom?

Just my two cents, but if you can find fiberglass laminate, you can make a transom that's strong and will never rot. This is how I did it: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=277491

It's a bit heavier and maybe hard to find (my brother in law knows some guy who sells it on the side - my transom cost me less than $20). Every time I saw the wood in my transom it ate away at me...

Re: seacast for aluminum transom?

Thanks for the info, your laminate transom looks great! I'm not sure where to find that kind of material around wisconsin, but I'll look.


bob

Re: seacast for aluminum transom?

Bob,

I'm going to call the guy I got the material from. He made it sound like fiberglass laminate is made all over the US, so perhaps he can provide some leads (which I'll post).

TJB

Re: seacast for aluminum transom?

Bob,

Talked to "my fiberglass guy" and he said his company is now independent. He suggested looking for fiberglass reinforced plastics and if you do a web search - there are lots of companies. I found one in Wisc: http://www.fiber-techinc.com/prod_lamination.html.

I suggest perhaps calling them and see what they have or if they can recommend a retailer. The guy I dealt with more than likely takes scraps and leftovers and re-sells them. Best of luck!

Tom